Survivor
by Imaginative Entity
Summary: One day, Alex Rider gets called to the hospital. And who does he find there? Yassen Gregorovich! Smithers has invented a machine that can change a person's age. Smithers tests it on Yassen, and somehow Alex is affected. A new gang called the Shadowlings appear and kidnap Alex and Yassen. They must escape and find help from some unexpected people. OOC on hold :)
1. Discovery

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything! All the characters belong to Anthony Horowitz.**

-Prologue-

He was supposed to be dead. The bullet wound was fatal, but yet he was alive. Barely. He was told that the bullet had gone in and stayed in. He had had to have a surgery, and most of the surgeons available did not want to help. But in the end, the surgeons were won over. While recovering, there wasn't much he could do. He was confined to his bed and wasn't allowed to do much of anything, considering his surgery and past background. Laying in bed, he couldn't have heard the woman outside the door who was being forced inside by two men with guns.

-Chapter One-

Alex Rider was sitting on a bench in the park, thinking about his parents. Before he died, Yassen Gregorovich had told Alex that his father, John Rider, was an assassin hired by Scorpia to kill. That could not be true! Alex hadn't known his dad for long, but he knew that John Rider could not be a cold-hearted killer. He was thinking about his family because his teacher, Mr. Grey, had assigned them a project about family. How could he think about his parents without wishing they were alive again? Suddenly, his phone rang. It was from Jack Starbright, his friend and legal guardian since his uncle, Ian Rider, had died.

"Hi, Jack," Alex said.

Jack said, "Alex! Hi! Um, I'm at the hospital right now, so-"

Alex cut her off. "Why are you at the hospital? Did something happen to you? I'll be right there!"

Jack said, "Alex, wait! I need to-"

Alex disconnected the call. He hopped on his bike and pedaled off to the hospital.

Alex rushed into the hospital. The receptionist noticed him and looked at him questionably. He must be here for a family member, thought the receptionist.

Sure enough, Alex walked up to the counter and said, "Can you please tell me where Jack Starbright is?"

The receptionist nodded. "She went up to Room 312. It's on the third floor."

Alex nodded and ran off. He stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the button. The light lit up which meant the elevator was coming. Alex tapped his fingers on the wall. When the elevator didn't come straight away, Alex abandoned the elevator and opened the door that led to the stairs. He ran up the stairs until he got to the third floor.

Room 312. Room 312. That was what the receptionist had told him. He saw Room 308, Room 310, and finally. Room 312. He opened the door slowly and carefully. The first thing he saw was a curtain that covered half of the room from Alex's range of vision. Jack was sitting in a chair in front of the side of the curtain that Alex could see. She burst into tears the moment she saw him.

"Alex… Oh, Alex…." she sobbed. "I thought you wouldn't come."

"Jack, it's okay." Alex said. "I'm here."

"He's alive….Alex, you told me he died…" Jack sniffed.

Alex's hopes rose. Could it be? He pulled aside the curtain, hoping it was his uncle Ian Rider. Alex stared in horror when he saw who it was.

"Hello, Alex."


	2. Meeting

-Chapter Two-

Alex's mind had gone blank. "But-but-you died! I saw you die! How…."

Yassen Gregorovich sighed. "I should have expected the questions. Alex, you didn't check if I still had a pulse, did you?"

Alex blushed. "I thought you were dead! The gunshot looked fatal. I didn't...think you were alive."

"I was unconscious. Not quite the same thing. When I woke up, Alan Blunt was standing at the foot of the bed. He told me that they had only saved me to experiment on me. Then he left the room. That was four days ago. Yesterday, Mrs. Jones was here. She told me that you would be coming to visit."

Alex didn't question how Yassen knew Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones. Before he could say anything, Smithers walked into the room pulling a metal cart behind him.

"Alex! It's so good to see you again." Smithers greeted.

"Smithers! What's that?" Alex said.

Smithers pulled the cover off of the cart. " _Voila!_ Isn't it beautiful?"

It was a round metal container with a tube attached to the side. A cone of metal stuck out of one end. There were buttons on the side of the round part.

Alex tilted his head sideways. "I don't get it."

Footsteps could be heard from the hallway outside. Mrs. Jones walked in, carrying a clipboard.

"We're ready?" Mrs. Jones asked.

Smithers nodded. "Alex, do you know what this is?"

Alex shook his head, puzzled.

Yassen cut in. "I don't either, but I have a hunch that it's the machine that they want to test on me." His face was void of any expression. His ice-cold eyes were merely curious.

"Correct," Smithers said. "This is a machine that can make someone the age of our choice."

"What?! No way! That's impossible." Jack exclaimed.

"Well, it might be possible now. We have to test it and find out." Smithers sounded excited.

He pointed the machine at Yassen. "Let's see, what age should we make you? How about 12? That way, you won't be able to do too much for yourself. An adult will always have to accompany you." He looked vaguely triumphant.

Smithers pushed some buttons and flicked a lever. Alex realized he was shifting from foot to foot. A beam of bright light shot out and enveloped Yassen. Alex couldn't see him anymore.

Smithers' arms were trembling. It looked like he was having trouble holding the machine. Alex stepped over to help.

"No!" Smithers yelled as he lost control of the machine.

The beam shot towards Alex and he caught a glimpse of the cocoon of light around Yassen. The light hit Alex's chest. It felt like he was being slowly lowered into a pit of flames. Alex yelled and collapsed onto the cold hospital floor.


End file.
